Sydney, Australia, Jun 17, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Australian Family Association has secured the support of Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the opposition Labor Party for a bill, pending in Parliament, to amend the nation’s Marriage Act of 1961.
The amendment would define marriage as “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” It also explicitly prohibits the recognition of overseas marriages between same-sex couples and prohibits the facilitation of overseas adoption by Australian same-sex couples. Action in the Lower House is expected before Parliament adjourns June 24.
The move is preemptive, as two judges on Australia’s seven-person High Court have already expressed support for homosexual marriage. Also, several same-sex couples have announced their intention to sue to have their foreign marriages legally recognized in Australia.
Allan Carlson, founder of the World Congress of Families, congratulated the Australian Family Association for putting the traditional definition of marriage on the fast track to legislative approval in Australia.
“Like the Federal Marriage Amendment in the United States, the Australian bill is defensive,” said Carlson, who is also the president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society. “It takes the definition of marriage out of the hands of judges and put it where it properly belongs – with the nation’s elected legislature.”
Carlson noted that “the movement to save marriage is truly international in scope.”
A World Congress of Families conference, attended by more than 3,300 participants from 70 countries, was held in Mexico City March 29-31. A declaration was crafted, defining the natural family as “the fundamental social unit, inscribed in human nature, and centered on the union of a man and a woman in the lifelong covenant of marriage.”
The Howard Center also publishes a monthly magazine, called The Family in America. The April issue’s lead article is titled, “Why Homosexuals Want What Marriage Has Now Become.” To receive a copy of this issue, call 1-800-461-3113.
For more on the World Congress of Families, go to: http://www.worldcongress.org and http://www.profam.org.